Experiencing the Best the Abacos has to Offer with Family and Friends
The last two weeks of March was the best period we have spent in the Abacos this winter. We hung out with family and friends, had a lot of potluck dinners on different boats, anchored out in some of the best spots in the Abacos, and did a lot of sailing.
Dena’s bother Joe and his wife Sue visited us for 10 days during this time. We spent the first two days showing them around Hopetown and all the cool places on Elbow Cay. After that we all squeezed into Odyssey and went cruising for a week.
Dena, Kathryn, and Scott “Table Dancing” at Barefoot Man Concert
The first stop was Great Guana Cay where “Barefoot Man” was holding an all-day free concert at Nippers beach bar. Barefoot Man performs at Nippers twice every year, once in March and a second time in July. The March concert is mainly attended by full-time cruisers who are in the Abacos for the entire winter. The concert reminded me of my younger, single days when we attended events like this at the Delaware beach resorts outside Washington, DC. It is a very boisterous crowd of mostly people in their 40s to 60s misbehaving just like they were still in college. The March Barefoot Man concert is attended by about 2,000 people. It is one of the biggest events in the Abacos all year. It is not to be missed.
After leaving Guana Cay, we sailed about 12 NMs to Lubbers Quarters, an island just west of Elbow Cay. Here a friend of ours from Annapolis, MD who owns a house on Lubbers had a St. Patrick’s Day potluck party for a group of sailors from the Annapolis area. We anchored out by Tahiti Beach off Elbow Cay and dinghied about a quarter mile over to our friend’s house on Lubbers Quarters. In the evening there was a big bonfire on the beach in front of our friend’s house.
Barefoot Man Himself Performing at Nippers Beach Bar
From Lubbers Quarters we had a long sail south to Little Harbour. Some friends who were sailing with us on their 46-foot sailboat “Nauti-Pleaure” had a very deep draft and could not get through the entrance to Little Harbour at mid-tide. So we anchored outside the harbour off a beach area that had deep water up to about 30 yards off the beach. We took a very long dinghy ride into Little Harbour and beached our dinghies in front of Pete’s Pub. At Pete’s Pub we spent the afternoon eating, drinking, and going through the Johnston gallery. Our family and friends had not seen the gallery before.
When we got back to our boats outside Little Harbour, the anchorage was very bouncy. This is because small waves came in and crashed on the beach and then rolled back out to where we were anchored. We decided to motor up to Lynyard Cay about 2 miles north of Little Harbour where we found a quieter anchorage. After 2 days of constant partying, we went to bed early that night.
Not Everybody who Attends Barefoot Man Concerts is Middle-aged
The next day we had one of the best sails of this winter. We sailed about 30 Nautical Miles from Lynyard Cay all the way to Treasure Cay. Since the winds were 15 to 20 knots, the sail only took about 5 hours which means we were averaging about 6 knots which is very good for Odyssey, especially since we were towing the dinghy. We spent two nights in Treasure Cay Harbour. Treasure Cay has one of the best beaches in the world. You can walk the beach for 3 miles and it is all sand and turquoise water. We had dinner at a beach bar one night and the second evening we had a potluck dinner for six on Odyssey.
From Treasure Cay we had another great sail about 14 NMs to Marsh Harbour where Dena’s brother and sister-in-law had to depart from the Marsh Harbour airport. They plan to bring their sailboat down to the Bahamas to cruise next year and I think this trip gave them more incentive to make the trip happen. In any event, they thoroughly enjoyed their 10-day trip and were sad to leave. I know how they feel. Every time we would leave the Bahamas in past years, it was so depressing to go back to the cold weather and traffic jams in the US. After friends and family left us at Marsh Harbour, Dena and I spend another day there re-provisioning at the large grocery store in Marsh Harbour where prices are lower and selection is a little better.
“Beaching” Dinghies at Pete’s Pub in Little Harbour
We went back to Hopetown for a few days and organized an Easter weekend raft-up with another group of Hopetown marina friends.
Based on the wind direction, our group of 5 boats decided to head back to Lynyard Cay and anchor out on the west side. We spent the first day walking and swimming the Lynyard Cay beach. The second day we all hopped on “Hooligan,” a friend’s large power catamaran, and motored back to Little Harbour for lunch at Pete’s Pub. After a fun afternoon of laughing it up at Pete’s Pub, we set out to return to our anchorage at Lynyard Cay. Unfortunately we hit were leaving Little Harbour at mid-tide while the tide was dropping. After running aground trying to get out of Little Harbour a few times, we did eventually get out and return to Lynyard Cay. That night twelve of us gathered on “Hooligan” and enjoyed a beautiful sunset happy hour followed by a big Easter dinner feast. It was a lot of fun.
Odyssey & Nauti-Pleasure anchored outside Little Harbour
Dena and I sailed most of the way back to Hopetown where we tucked in at the marina for a big storm predicted to pass through the area that evening with continued squalls for the next few days.
The two week period described in this blog post is what cruising in the Abacos is all about. Frankly, it does not get any better than this.
I will finish this post with more pictures of the last two weeks. Remember click on any picture tobe expand to full screen.
Dena and David walking by the Johnston Gallery in Little Harbour
- Dena with Brother Joe and Sue at Pete’s Pub
- Ted, Dena, and Ferd Fisher on Hooligan motoring Back to Lynyard Cay
- Little Harbour from the Roof of Pete’s Pub
- The Atlantic Ocean from the Roof of Pete’s Pub
- Dena anchored off Parrot Cay watching Hopetown Sailing Club’s Wednesday Sailboat Race
Did you enjoy this post? Why not leave a comment below and continue the conversation, or subscribe to my feed and get articles like this delivered automatically to your feed reader.
Comments
No comments yet.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.